Former USC defensive lineman Armond Armstead has settled his lawsuit, which alleged that misuse of the painkiller Toradol led to a heart attack, against the school and a team doctor, his attorneys announced Wednesday.
Terms of the settlement were not announced and prevent the case from going to trial, which was set to begin Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
"Mr. Armstead believes that the use of Toradol has not been adequately researched with respect to possible long-term consequences, especially when administered to student-athletes by team doctors repeatedly over the course of a season," Armstead's attorneys, Roger Dreyer and Robert Bale, said in a statement.
In response, USC offered the following statement: "We have seen the statements issued by Mr. Armstead's attorney that express Mr. Armstead's personal opinions. While the university will not comment on the case, USC has always placed the health and safety of its student-athletes as its top priority."
In a lawsuit filed in August 2012, Armstead alleged USC doctors regularly injected him with Toradol to mask the pain from a shoulder injury and allow him to play during the 2010 season, his junior year. He suffered a heart attack before the 2011 season, and was not cleared to play by USC.
USC maintained Armstead's heart attack was the result of a congenital heart condition.
Armstead went undrafted after the 2011 season and went unsigned by NFL teams, presumably because of concerns about his health. He signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League and led the team in sacks (six) in 2012. That led to a free-agent deal with the New England Patriots, but he didn't play for the team in 2013 as a result of an undisclosed infection. A second heart attack, in 2014, led to Armstead's retirement from football, according to the Sacramento Bee.
"In Mr. Armstead's opinion, college teams and team doctors should be required to inform student-athletes of the known risks associated with the use of Toradol, including, at a minimum, being provided the warnings and medication guides approved and required for this drug by the FDA," Armstead's attorneys said in the statement. "Mr. Armstead believes that the repeated use of Toradol poses certain medical risks to student-athletes."
Armstead's younger brother, Arik, who just finished a three-year career at Oregon, is expected to be one of the first defensive linemen taken in the upcoming NFL draft and is considered a potential first-round pick.